This Heart of Mine
by whatwereyouthinking
Summary: Jade doesn't really do crushes or letting people help her, but now she is doing both and it's going to be a lot harder than she thought. First multi-chapter so there's that.


**I don't know. Writing is hard and I get so tried of reading my own writing but I'm working on a part 2 for my other story so that's good. Thanks for reading. You guys are all so lovely. Definitely give me criticism or suggestions or whatever you can think of.. This is my first multi chapter ever so we'll see how this goes...**

**Sorry it's taken so long I started college in a different country and visas and stuff had to be taken care of and shit went down anyway**

**I don't own Victorious and blah, blah, blah.**

* * *

These feelings she has are not like some love story. This is not a scene from a romantic comedy.

These are real, lasting, indescribable feelings. They have consequences and drawbacks and repercussions. They have the possibility for a future or a heartbreak. These are real. It is the churning motion in her stomach, described as butterflies. It is the aching weight in her stomach because there is a nagging doubt that it can't amount to anything.

"Stoooooop." Jade whined when Andre had been laughing for over a minute.

He clutched his side and said through a laugh "I can't help it. You realize this is one of the funniest things I'll probably ever hear right?"

Jade covered her face with her hand and groaned as she plopped next to Andre on the couch.

"It's not funny. It's a serious problem."

"Jade's little problem." He smiled and started the process of laughing again.

Jade crossed her arms in a huff. "I may not be an expert at manners but to my knowledge it's rude to laugh at people feelings."

Andre snorted in response. With a quick shove, He fell off the couch.

looking up to meet Jade's eyes he yelled "Hey!"

"When you're done wheezing and snorting, are you going to help?"

Andre pulled himself up and pretended to dust off his jacket. "Like you said Jade, they're feelings and you can't just get rid of them."

Moving off the couch Jade exclaimed "Yeah you can! People do it all the freakin' time. They push things down, they compartmentalize."

"Then what's stopping you?" He challenged, looking around the room for his backpack.

"I don't know she's your friend? That's what you're supposed to help me with!"

"These aren't the kind of things you get rid of instantly." He reasoned. Laughing to himself, remembering the time he went through the same thing with Jade.

Narrowing his eyes on the backpack behind Jade, He said "You gotta let them play out."

"Well how do I do that?!"

Andre pushed past her for his backback and turned around. "I don't know this is usually the part where I show up at Tori's door and have her help me."

Jade frowned at Andre's lack of contribution.

"Heh, but you can't really do that." He chuckled.

"Feelings are stupid. And you're stupid." She added as an after thought.

"Don't blame me." He warned, positioning his backpack in case things got violent and he needed to make an escape. He scanned the room for scissors.

Jade's response is unintelligible. To Andre it just sounds like noise. If this was a date he'd break out some smooth line or at least nod and smile, but Jade is flailing her hands and freaking out and that's his job.

He decided to go with a risky but effective form of action "Shut up!" He shouts after dropping his backpack. It's obvious he's not going anywhere soon.

Jade freezes mid hand gesture, her wide, unblinking eyes wait for him to continue.

"How do you know this isn't just uhh" He buried his hands in his pockets while contemplating the right word. "you know, a crush?" He shrugged.

"That's what I said it was..." Jade reiterated, squinting her eyes in confusion.

"Yeah, yeah I know but what if it's just a short thing." He removed one hand from his pocket to scratch his head. "You know someone does something nice and you start to notice other nice stuff about them. A little crush. You admire her. Not like you're suddenly in love, right?"

"Right." Jade echoed.

"So you're good?" He asked, a little unsure.

"Yeah." She shrugged.

"Cool" He clasped his hands together and smiled "Because we got this thing called classes and schools like when we attend them-"

"Are you still talking?" Jade interrupted, halfway out the door.

"Ha, okay. Cool, cool." He laughed to her retreating form. "This advice stuff isn't so hard."

* * *

It had been around 3 hours since Andre had talked to Jade and everything seemed to be going well. He was now enjoying a classic lesson from Sikowitz, who was scribbling words on the white board, when a wadded up paper hit Andre's head. He whipped around to find Jade seated behind him, sporting a frown.

"Not working." she mouthed. Andre took in her wide, frantic eyes and shuddered.

"Okay." He mouthed back scratching his chin.

"This is your fault." She threw another paper at him and he blocked it with his arm. How could someone mouthing words seem so threatening?

"What'd I do?" He asked incredulously, gaining the attention of the whole class. Jade face-palmed in response.

Sikowitz turned around with a gleam in his eye that made everyone nervous.

"What are we talking about?" He smiled, plopping himself down on the stairs of the stage. He looked back and forth between Jade and Andre.

Jade crossed her arms and waited for Andre to start. Breaking eye-contact with Jade, he glanced around the room.

"Well Jade was asking for my help and I guess I gave her bad advice?" He looked to Jade to see if that was the cause of her anger.

A warning glare told him to keep it vague.

"And the plot thickens." Sikowitz said.

Jade internally groaned and looked forward. Tori hectically turned around when Jade noticed her staring. Before the awkward, embarrassed look, was that hurt she saw on Tori's face? Jade bit her thumb nail. Girls were confusing.

"Jade, rebuttal?" Sikowitz rested his head on his palms.

"What can I say Andre gives crappy advice." She responded, feigning nonchalance.

"Details?" He grinned and tapped his feet in excitement.

"Um, no."

"Well you're no fun." He stood up and returned to his lesson. "Now everyone is just going to have to wonder." he said but dropped the subject.

Jade breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

"I don't understand." Andre grumbled, leaning himself against a locker.

School had let out and Jade had made a rush to her locker but was cornered by a persistent Andre just outside the classroom.

Jade just shrugged.

"Three hours ago you were fine. What could have happened in three hours?"

"She sat next to me in history."

"And?" He inquired, his intrest piqued.

"And she smelled nice, okay. I don't want to talk about it." Jade huffed.

Andre pushed himself off the locker and blocked Jade from leaving. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't just leave it like that. If it wasn't my advice that was wrong what happened?"

"I freaked out." She crossed her arms and frowned. "Let's just say Robbie has more game than I do."

Andre chuckled. "Ouch that bad?"

"Like I said I don't want to talk about it." Stepping around him, they started down the hall.

Jade paused. "This isn't going to go away is it?"

"I don't know." Andre answered honestly.

"So your advice was okay, it just didn't work for me."

Andre just smiled, knowing this was probably more than a crush.

"Looks like you got company."

The two stood side by side, watching Tori twirl the end of her hair while periodically searching the hall, right in front of Jade's locker.

"I'll cut your backpack to shreds if you leave me alone with her."

"Just try and be her friend, Jade."

Jade frowned at the vague advice.

"Let's make a deal. I leave before you can stop me and I'll see you and Tori at Nozu with everyone else."

She whipped to the side to see Andre dash off in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" she shouted after him. "Shit" she ground out when she realized that had gained the attention of Tori.

Breathing in to summon all her courage, Jade replaced the nervous lip biting with her indifferent stare. She had a book she needed in there anyway.

"Tori."

"Jade." She replied curtly.

"Why are you standing at my locker?" Jade emphasized her words and gestured to the scissor clad door.

"I want to know what's going on." She crossed her arms and leveled her gaze.

"Nothing's going on."

Tori scoffed. "You're acting more weird than usually and I asked Andre and he said nothing was going on but we all know he can't lie and-"

Jade cut off Tori's rambling with a more forceful "Nothing is going on!"

"Uh huh." Tori nodded rapidly, clearly not believing Jade's excuse. "You guys are plotting something and I'm going to find out what it is."

"Stop being so paranoid."

Tori scowled and added briskly. "_I_ am not paranoid."

"Yeah you're all worried I'm trying to steal your best friend or something." Jade claimed.

"That is not what it is." She assured, crossing her arms.

"Then what? Does it bother you that much to not know everything?"

"I don't need to know _everything_."

"You totally do! You're in everyone's business weather they want you there or not."

"Ummm No! I care about my friends there's a difference." Tori scoffed.

"Admit it Vega, you're nosey." Jade held Tori's gaze and raised her eyebrows, daring her to say other wise.

"Not nosey, caring." Tori reiterates, with renewed calmness.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Can I give you ride?" She watched in amusement as Tori struggled for words.

Shoving Tori out of the way, Jade opened her locker and repeated her internal mantra 'Be her friend. Be her friend. Be her friend'.

"You're offering me ride?"

"Yeah, that's what friends do." Jade tried her best at sounding calm, when the idea of being alone with Tori in the car made her squirm. "Unless you don't want to miss driving with Trina..."

Tori weighed her options and scrutinized the girl who stood before her. "Will you tell me what's going on?"

"Probably not."

"Fine. I'm going to find out." She states as a matter-of-fact.

"Whatever. Is that a yes?"

Tori straightened her posture and declared "Yes."

Jade gulped: A determined Tori is never good news.


End file.
